If you have ever found yourself saying, “I really want to go there,” or “Wow, that place looks beautiful and I’d love to see it,” then you are not alone. How many of us sit around and talk about where we would like to go or dream of exotic locations to explore? I know that I do on a very regular basis, so why not take a chance and visit some of your “dream” places? The world can be your oyster if you want it to be!
Let me try to help convince you to get your passport now by giving you 8 reasons why you should travel – now!
1. Travel can challenge you. If you are stuck in a rut and you find yourself getting your morning coffee at the same cafe and you struggle to get through the 8 hour work day, then you aren’t being challenged enough. Travel is the perfect way to break up your routine and discover new locales and the challenges that may arise. Overcoming those challenges empowers you and keeps life interesting.
2. Travel equals adventure. Sitting in your morning commute is not much of an adventure, but exploring the city streets of Paris or driving through the stunning countryside in Ireland is more of an adventure. These adventures give you the opportunity to get outside your comfort zone and to experience new and exciting things.
3. Travel opens your mind. There are so many other ways that people live in the world, so get out there and see how people in other countries live. Travel helps us to dispose of any prejudice or ignorance we may carry with us. When you see how others act and live in their own environment, it helps to understand why they are different than us. A study have discovered that meeting people from different cultures, learning new languages, and experiencing their music and various cuisines are linked to unconventional problem solving skills and enhanced creativity.
4. Travel means learning new languages. How cool would it be to learn a few words in Thai to say please and thank you? Or how about breaking out your rusty Spanish to book a hotel room in Madrid? Anywhere you go you can pick up some words or learn a new language that you didn’t even know about.
5. Travel inspires new friendships. People you meet while you are on the road can quickly become vital contacts for future trips as well as an invaluable resource for that visit. Find out the best places to stay, eat, and explore while creating new relationships along the way.
6. Travel creates an appetite. No matter where you are traveling, you will always be able to find a favorite restaurant to indulge in at the end of a long day of exploring. Go ahead and ask the locals where the best eateries are so that you can experience their food culture exactly like they do. You just may fall in love with a certain dish and then try to recreate it when you get home.
7. Travel makes your dream a reality. You’ve spent numerous hours imagining what a trip would be like so why not get started planning one now? Get online and start researching some of your dream destinations. Search for airfares from JFK to Frankfurt, Germany or find the cheapest fare from Mumbai to Indore. Either place will turn that dream into the real deal if you just book it.
8. Travel gives you interesting stories. Imagine the next dinner party you throw and you can say things like, “that glacier in the Alps was beautiful.” Even the simplest antidote from an adventure you had will create interesting banter for dinner conversation. Just be careful and keep it light so you don’t overdo it and be “that person” who goes on and on.
Why travel? Well, because you can and you should. Planning and then finishing a trip offers you a sense of accomplishment and sure beats just talking about it. Create a bucket list of exciting places to visit and go for it. When you get out of your comfort zone and start to see the world, you will be amazed at how fast you adapt to new people and cultures, so don’t let fear hold you back – make it happen!
This is a collaborative post. All views and text are mine.
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A former school teacher, Jocelyn Brown created Hip Mama’s Place in 2007. Her motto for this blog is: get inspired, create and share! Jocelyn loves sharing about food and recipes, crafts, DIY projects and her random travels with her family. She also loves all things social media, but her latest obsession is Instagram.
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Although I don’t travel often, I enjoy it. These are all great reminders that travelling is worth the time, money, and energy.
Yes to all of this! I’m a huge traveller and this is all so true. I especially love the stories that come out of it, like you mentioned.
I think travelling is one of the many great things we should experience. It is just so refreshing and fun! How I wish to get off the bed now and go out for an adventure.
What wonderful reasons for traveling! My favorite ones are making new friends, trying out new foods, experiencing new adventures!
I just got home from Spain, and I am in total agreement with you! I was so happy while we were traveling, seeing new things, trying new foods.
I love traveling.. it is such a great thing and just as valuable as material things! I really enjoy traveling as a family and experiencing new things.
I know people that never go anywhere and I just can’t even fathom that! I have to travel like I have to breathe. It’s necessary for life.
This is all soooo true! I had three kids in 3 years and for a while it felt like staying home was easier, now that they are 11, 9 and 8 I feel we can travel more and am so excited! The past two years we have been to a lot more places and are quickly adding to our list!
Travelling is such an amazing thing to be able to do I always thing and it really has so many benefits, the experiencing other cultures, history, geography and new adventures!
I just love this. I wish I wasn’t so afraid when my kids were younger but now we travel all the time and I love how much we all learn together!
We haven’t traveled in quite some time. These are all reasons to revisit that conversation with my husband about taking some time off to go on an adventure.
These are some great reasons to travel. I try to travel as much as I can. It’s always great to experience different cultures and meet different people along the way.
I recently explored my daughter’s school city of Madison, Wisconsin and that was a lot of fun, It has been a while since I traveled abroad so these benefits can be satisfied.
I don’t need ANY reasons to travel. Because I LOVE to travel!!! And I cannot wait to travel again REALLY SOON!
I absolutely love to travel! If I had millions of dollars I would not spend it on a house or on stuff I would be traveling the world. It is just so interesting to see other cultures.
I really enjoyed reading this post. Great tips! These are all wonderful reasons why you should travel.
We love to travel! I remember getting the kids their passports when they were little and introducing them to a whole new world – outside our own.
Yes! I do enjoy traveling. I wish I could do it more. It’s tough when the kids are in school. I’d go on my own, but then they’re like, “What?”